1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dual sliding-type portable communication apparatuses comprising, for example, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), hand held phones (HHPs), and digital communication apparatuses. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dual sliding-type portable communication apparatus having a housing adapted to slide in a twofold manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a “sliding-type portable communication apparatus” refers to an electronic apparatus that a user can carry to perform wireless communication with a desired partner. To facilitate portability, designs of sliding-type portable communication apparatuses tend not only to be compact, slim, and lightweight, but are also moving toward providing multimedia availability, having a wider variety of functions. In particular, future portable communication apparatuses are expected to incorporate greater multi-functionality and be capable of multi-purpose utilization, as well as being more compact, lightweight, and capable of being modified to be suitable for various multimedia or Internet environments. Additionally, portable communication apparatuses are now used by people of all ages and all walks of life throughout the world, and are recognized by some people as a nearly indispensable commodity.
Conventional portable communication apparatuses may be classified into various categories according to their appearance, such as bar-type communication apparatuses, flip-type communication apparatuses, and folder-type communication apparatuses. The bar-type communication apparatuses have a single housing shaped like a bar. The flip-type communication apparatuses have a flip rotatably coupled to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge device. The folder-type communication apparatuses have a folder connected to a single bar-shaped housing by a hinge device in such a manner that the folder can be rotated to fold on or unfold from the housing.
In addition, portable communication apparatuses may be classified into rotation-type communication apparatuses and sliding-type communication apparatuses according to the manner of opening and closing the communication apparatuses. In the rotation-type communication apparatuses, two housings are coupled to each other in such a manner that one housing rotates to be opened or closed relative to the other while they face each other. In the sliding-type communication apparatuses, two housings are coupled to each other in such a manner that one housing slides in the longitudinal direction to be opened or closed relative to the other housing.
Meanwhile, conventional portable communication apparatuses now tend to transmit data at high speeds in addition to performing the basic voice communication function. In other words, as a result of the increase in consumer demand, portable communication apparatuses now tend to provide a service using wireless communication technology capable of transmitting data at high speeds.
Recent portable communication apparatuses also tend to be equipped with a camera lens to obtain video for transmission. That is, current sliding-type portable communication apparatuses have an external or embedded camera lens module to enable users to perform video communication with desired partners or to photograph desired subjects.
However, conventional portable communication apparatuses have a problem in that, since one of their two housings can slide only in one direction while they face each other and expose about half the length of the other stationary housing, it is impossible to use the whole area of the apparatus. This restricts the installation of keys and a liquid crystal display (LCD).
In addition, the small number of keys positioned in the limited area of the apparatus makes it inconvenient to operate the keys for inputting characters or for a game mode.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved dual sliding-type portable communication apparatus which enables more keys and larger LCD installation.